Sport court perimeter boundary

ABSTRACT

An improved court perimeter boundary for volleyball or other sports comprises at least one indicator that indicates a hypotenuse distance to be used in squaring the court delimited by the boundary. Optionally, the perimeter boundary may be separated, facilitating the setup of the court and the winding of the boundary for storage. A method of setting up a volleyball court is also described.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority from provisional application No.60/788,268, filed Mar. 31, 2006 and titled “Sport court perimeterboundary”. That provisional application is hereby incorporated byreference as if fully reproduced herein.

BACKGROUND

FIG. 1 shows an outdoor volleyball court 100. The typical court is arectangular area about 9 meters in width by 18 meters in length,outlined by perimeter court boundary 101 and bisected by a net 102.Often, the court perimeter boundary 101 is formed by a flexible rope ortape, anchored to the ground at the corners. The flexible perimeterboundary material aids in play because motion of the boundary when it ishit by a falling ball makes it easy to determine whether a ball hasfallen in bounds or out of bounds.

Different volleyball organizations may use somewhat different courtsizes. For example, outdoor professional beach volleyball in the UnitedStates is often played on a court that is 8×16 meters.

In any case, the court perimeter boundary 101 should outline arectangle, each corner forming a right angle. If the figure formed bythe perimeter boundary 101 is not an accurate rectangle, for example ifthe figure is a parallelogram or other shape, the game may be made moredifficult or unfair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An improved court perimeter boundary for volleyball or other sportscomprises at least one indicator that indicates a hypotenuse distance tobe used in squaring the court delimited by the boundary, and isseparable for easy winding.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a volleyball court.

FIG. 2 shows volleyball court perimeter boundary in accordance with afirst example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 shows a first example anchor joining two segments of a courtperimeter boundary.

FIG. 4 shows a second example anchor that anchors a corner formed by twoperimeter segments.

FIG. 5 shows a third example anchor that anchors a corner formed by twoperimeter segments.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate the setup of the example perimeter boundary ofFIG. 2.

FIG. 7 illustrates a court perimeter boundary in accordance with asecond example embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a court perimeter boundary in accordance witha third example embodiment of the invention, and some steps involved inits setup.

FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate a court perimeter boundary in accordance witha fourth example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 10 shows a court perimeter boundary in accordance with a fifthexample embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show an example method of making the perimeterboundary of FIG. 10 separable.

FIG. 12 shows a court perimeter boundary in accordance with a sixthexample embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 13 shows a hypotenuse indicator loop being attached to an anchor,in accordance with an example embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 14A shows an anchor in accordance with an example embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 14B shows the anchor of FIG. 14A with a perimeter boundarytemporarily attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 2 shows a court perimeter boundary 200 in accordance with a firstexample embodiment of the invention. Court perimeter boundary 200 isespecially suitable for constructing a volleyball court, but may besuitable for use in other sports, for example badminton. Each perimetersegment is preferably made of an elongate, flexible material, forexample nylon rope, woven webbing, or a similar material. Preferably,the material is chosen for good durability and high visibility. Thesegments may be separate pieces of the boundary material joined at thecorners, or each segment may be a portion of a continuous boundary onwhich corner locations are designated. The segments form four corners201, 203, 204, 206. Midpoints 202 and 205 are located at the midpointsof the two long sides of the court. Preferably, anchors are provided forsecuring the corners of perimeter boundary 200 to the ground.Optionally, anchors may be provided for securing the perimeter boundaryto the ground at midpoints 202 and 205 as well.

Any of a number of types of anchors may be used within the scope of theappended claims. FIG. 3 shows a first example anchor 301, joining twoperimeter segments 302 and 303. In the example of FIG. 3, anchor 301 isa 5/16 inch (8 mm) eye bolt, approximately 3 inches (75 mm) long.Example perimeter segments 301 and 302 are made of nylon rope and areattached to anchor 301 by braiding. Other attachment methods may be usedas well. For example, segments 301 and 302 could be tied to anchor 301.Anchor 301 may be secured to the ground by simply pushing its threadedportion 304 downward into the ground.

FIG. 4 shows a second example anchor 401 that anchors a corner formed byperimeter segments 402 and 403. In the example of FIG. 4, perimetersegments 402 and 403 are made of woven nylon webbing. Anchor 401 is aspike to be driven into the ground, and is attached using a rubbertension cord 404 to the corner formed by segments 402 and 403.

FIG. 5 shows a third example anchor 501 that anchors a corner formed byperimeter segments 502 and 503. In the example of FIG. 5, perimetersegments 502 and 503 are part of a continuous boundary on which mark 504indicates the corner. Anchor 501 may be made, for example, of a wirestaple of a kind commonly used in landscaping. One of skill in the artwill recognize that many other anchoring systems may be used within thescope of the appended claims.

Referring again to FIG. 2, perimeter boundary 200 comprises at least onehypotenuse distance indicator 207 to be used in squaring the court. Inthis example embodiment, hypotenuse distance indicator 207 is preferablya mark made on boundary 200 using an indelible ink or paint of a colorthat contrasts with the boundary material. Alternatively, indicator mark207 may be integrally formed by weaving fibers of a contrasting colorinto boundary 200, may be a device crimped or clamped onto boundary 200at the proper location, or may be formed in some other way.

FIGS. 6A-6C illustrate the setup of perimeter boundary 200, and the useof hypotenuse distance indicator mark 207, in accordance with an exampleembodiment of the invention. In a first step, illustrated in FIG. 6A,corners 201 and 203 and midpoint 202 are secured to the ground, formingan initial side of the rectangular court. Hypotenuse distance indicatormark 207 is on a segment 601 not included between corners 201 and 203.

In a second step, illustrated in FIG. 6B, adjacent corner 204 is movedto its approximate final location, and hypotenuse distance indicator 207is held at a preselected point on the initial side. In this example, thepreselected point is midpoint 202. Corner 204 is then pulled untilsegments 602 and 603 are taut. This portion of the setup can easily beperformed by two people, one holding hypotenuse distance indicator 207at midpoint 202, and one pulling on corner 204 until segments 602 and603 are taut. Because the distance from corner 204 to indicator 207 is ahypotenuse distance that is √{square root over (2)} times the width ofthe court, and because the distance from corner 203 to midpoint 202 isthe same as the distance from corner 203 to corner 204, interior angle604 is a right angle. For example, if perimeter boundary 200 forms acourt 9 meters in width by 18 meters in length, the distance from corner204 to hypotenuse distance indicator 207 is 9×√{square root over (2)}meters, or 12.728 meters. Once the right triangle is formed by pullingcorner 204 to its proper position, corner 204 is secured to the ground.While the example embodiments describe a court whose length is twice itswidth, one of skill in the art will easily recognize that the inventionmay be embodied, with suitable adjustments to the placement of thehypotenuse mark, in courts with different aspect ratios.

FIG. 6C illustrates the final steps in the setup of example perimeterboundary 200. Corner 206 is pulled until perimeter segments 603 and 605are taut. Because corner 204 has been placed and anchored in its properlocation in relation to corners 201 and 203, corner 206 is alsoautomatically placed in the proper location to form perimeter boundary200 into a rectangle. That is, the remaining interior angles 606, 607,608 are also right angles. Corner 206, and optionally midpoint 205, maythen be secured to the ground.

FIG. 7 illustrates a court perimeter boundary 700 in accordance with asecond example embodiment of the invention. Perimeter boundary 700comprises four corners 701, 703, 704, and 706, and two side midpoints702 and 705. Preferably, each corner and midpoint is fitted with ananchor that will serve equally well as a corner anchor or a midpointanchor. For example, an anchor of the type illustrated in FIG. 3 couldbe used. Thus, perimeter boundary 700 comprises six points that couldserve as corners of a court. Even if the anchors used at the midpointsare different from the anchors used at the corners, a perimeter boundaryin accordance with this example embodiment would have four points thatcan serve as corners. Perimeter boundary 700 also comprises 12hypotenuse distance indicators 707, each placed a hypotenuse distanceaway from one of the points that can serve as corners. For example, ifboundary 700 is to form a court 9×18 meters, then hypotenuse distanceindicator marks 707 may be placed on boundary 700 at 12.728 meters fromeach corner or midpoint, in both directions around the perimeter. Havingmultiple hypotenuse indicators placed in this way makes completelyarbitrary the choice of which boundary segment end to start with insetting up a court. Any two adjacent segments may be used to form theinitial long court side, and the segment adjacent either end of thatinitial side may be used to form the initial right angle. One ofhypotenuse distance indicators 707 will always be available to hold nearthe preselected point on the initial side during the squaring up of theinitial right angle.

FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate a court perimeter boundary 800 in accordancewith a third example embodiment of the invention, and some stepsinvolved in its setup. Perimeter boundary 800 comprises corners 801,803, 804, and 806, and long side midpoints 802 and 805. Perimeterboundary 800 also comprises a hypotenuse indicator 807, placed ahypotenuse distance away from corner 804. In this example embodiment,the distance from corner 804 to hypotenuse distance indicator mark 807along the boundary is √{square root over (5)} times the width of thecourt, and the court is twice as long as it is wide. For example, ifperimeter boundary 800 is to form a court 9×18 meters, then indicatormark 807 is placed 9×√{square root over (5)} or 20.125 meters fromcorner 804. As is illustrated in FIG. 8B, during the setup of perimeterboundary 800, hypotenuse distance indicator 807 is held at corner 801while corner 804 is pulled into place and anchored, ensuring that angle808 is a right angle. Corner 806 may then be pulled into place andanchored. Multiple hypotenuse indicators 807 may be placed on perimeterboundary 800 to make arbitrary the choice of the perimeter segment usedto begin the setup.

While embodiments have so far been described wherein the preselectedpoint on the initial court side at which the hypotenuse mark is heldwhile squaring the court is the midpoint or an end of the initial side,other preselected points may be used as well. For example, if thehypotenuse distance is 5/4 times the width of the court, and twelvehypotenuse indicators are made on the perimeter boundary, then eachhypotenuse indicator can also serve as the preselected point at whichanother hypotenuse indicator is held. FIGS. 9A and 9B illustrate courtperimeter boundary 900 in accordance with this fourth example embodimentof the invention. Court perimeter boundary 900 comprises corners 901,903, 904, and 906, and also side midpoints 902 and 905. Boundary 900also comprises 12 hypotenuse distance indicators 907, each placed adistance of 5/4 times the width from a corner or midpoint. Twoparticular hypotenuse distance indicator marks 908 and 909 will be usedto illustrate the setup of perimeter boundary 900. In FIG. 9B, corners901 and 903 and midpoint 902 have been secured to the ground. Hypotenusedistance indicator mark 908 is placed at indicator mark 909, and corner904 is pulled until segments 910 and 911 are taut. Because each ofhypotenuse distance indicator marks 908 and 909 is placed 5/4 of thecourt width from a corner and the court length is twice the court width,included angle 912 is a right angle. In other words, the preselectedpoint at which hypotenuse distance indicator mark 908 is held duringthis setup step is itself another hypotenuse distance indicator mark909. This symmetry is enabled by the distance from a corner or midpointto each hypotenuse mark being 5/4 of the court width and the courtlength being twice the court width. The rest of the setup proceeds aspreviously described.

FIG. 10 shows a court perimeter boundary 1000 in accordance with a fifthexample embodiment of the invention. Perimeter boundary 1000 comprises ahypotenuse distance indicator 1002, and is separable at corner 1001.That is, the segments meeting at corner 1001 may be separated from eachother so that perimeter boundary 1000 is open and has two ends ratherthan forming a closed, endless loop. This arrangement facilitateswinding perimeter boundary 1000 for storage, and may ease setup.

FIGS. 11A and 11B show an example method of making perimeter boundary1000 separable. A first boundary segment 1101 is attached to an anchor1102. A second boundary segment 1103 is attached to a clip 1104. Clip1104 may be, for example, a snap-gate carabiner, a snap hook, or anotherkind of openable fastener. In the example of FIG. 11A, boundary segments1101 and 1103 are made of nylon rope, attached to anchor 1102 and clip1104 by braiding. Other attachment methods may be used as well.Preferably, the length of the rope forming perimeter segment 1103 isadjusted to account for the length of clip 1104, such that segment 1103,including clip 1104, is the proper length when clip 1104 is engaged withanchor 1102. In FIG. 11B, segments 1101 and 1103 have been joined byfastening clip 1104 to anchor 1102.

FIG. 12 shows a court perimeter boundary 1200 in accordance with a sixthexample embodiment of the invention. Perimeter boundary 1200 comprisescorners 1201, 1203, 1204, and 1206, and long side midpoints 1202 and1205. Perimeter boundary 1200 also comprises a hypotenuse distanceindicator 1207, placed a hypotenuse distance away from corner 1204. Inthis example embodiment, hypotenuse distance indicator 1207 is a loop,and can be held at midpoint 1202 by temporarily attaching it to theanchor at midpoint 1202. FIG. 13 shows hypotenuse distance indicatorloop 1207 being attached to anchor 1301 at midpoint 1202 by simplyencircling a feature 1302 of anchor 1301 with hypotenuse distanceindicator loop 1207. In this way, hypotenuse distance indicator 1207 isheld at midpoint 1202 without the need for a person to remain atmidpoint 1202. Hypotenuse distance indicator loop 1207 is positioned andsized so that corner 1204 is properly positioned when indicator loop1207 is attached to midpoint 1202. This arrangement facilitates thesetup of court boundary 1200 by one unassisted person. The unassistedperson can place corners 1201 and 1203 and midpoint 1202, attachhypotenuse distance indicator loop 1207 to anchor 1301, and then placecorner 1204 by drawing the segments adjacent corner 1204 taut.

Alternatively, an anchor may have gripping features to temporarily holda hypotenuse distance indicator. FIG. 14A shows an anchor 1401 withgripping features in accordance with an example embodiment of theinvention. Anchor 1401 is preferably made of stamped sheet steel, butmay be cast, forged, molded from plastic, or formed by some othermethod. Anchor 1401 comprises a tang 1402 for penetrating the ground,and also comprises notches 1403 sized so that the court boundarymaterial can wedge into them. For example, if the court boundarymaterial is ⅜ inch diameter nylon rope, notches 1403 may taper to a ¼inch bottom width. A court perimeter boundary as boundary 200 shown inFIG. 2 may be set up by a single unassisted person using anchor 1401 atmidpoint 202. FIG. 14B shows court perimeter boundary 200 temporarilyattached to anchor 1401. Hypotenuse distance indicator mark 207 iswedged into the top notch 1403, and the perimeter segment comprisingmark 207 is wrapped through the other two notches 1403. This attachmentis secure enough, especially when tension is applied to segment 1404, tohold hypotenuse distance indicator mark 207 at midpoint 202 until corner204 is anchored. The boundary may then be easily detached from anchor1401 so that corner 206 may be placed. For safety, anchor 1401 ispreferably made with a low profile and placed at a midpoint of thecourt, under the net, where it is unlikely to be stepped or fallen on.

Other methods of temporarily attaching a hypotenuse distance indicatorare possible. For example, a hypotenuse distance indicator may be a clipor ring fastened to boundary 1200 and that attaches to a preselectedpoint on the initial court side by clipping or snapping, by encirclingan anchor feature, or by some other means. Or the hypotenuse distanceindicator may attach magnetically to an anchor. A magnet may be embeddedin or attached to the perimeter boundary at the hypotenuse distanceindicator point, and attach to a ferrous anchor by magnetic attraction.Alternatively, the anchor may be magnetized and the hypotenuse indicatormay include metal for attaching to the magnetized anchor. Otherattachment methods are possible.

It is intended that the embodiments illustrated above be consideredexemplary only and not as defining the scope of the invention, which isto be limited only by the appended claims viewed in light of the priorart.

1. A perimeter boundary for a sport court, comprising: at least fourelongate flexible segments configured to form a rectangle having fourcorners; and a hypotenuse distance indicator placed on the perimeterboundary a hypotenuse distance from one of the corners for use insquaring the sport court; and wherein the perimeter boundary isseparable.
 2. The perimeter boundary of claim 1, further comprising: afirst segment forming an initial side of the rectangle; and apredetermined point on the initial side; and wherein squaring the sportcourt comprises holding the hypotenuse indicator mark at thepredetermined point.
 3. The perimeter boundary of claim 2, wherein thepredetermined point is a midpoint of the first segment or an end of thefirst segment.
 4. The perimeter boundary of claim 2, wherein thehypotenuse distance indicator can temporarily attach to the preselectedpoint.
 5. The perimeter boundary of claim 1, wherein the perimeterboundary can be set up by one unassisted person.
 6. The perimeterboundary of claim 1, wherein the rectangle has a width and a lengthlonger than the width, and wherein the hypotenuse distance is one of√{square root over (2)} times the width, √{square root over (5)} timesthe width, and 5/4 times the width.
 7. A perimeter boundary for a sportcourt, comprising: at least four elongate flexible segments configuredto form a rectangle having four corners; and at least two hypotenusedistance indicators placed on the perimeter boundary, each hypotenusedistance indicator being a hypotenuse distance from one of the cornersand usable in squaring the sport court.
 8. The perimeter boundary ofclaim 7, further comprising: a first segment forming an initial side ofthe rectangle; and a predetermined point on the initial side; andwherein squaring the sport court comprises holding one of the hypotenuseindicators at the predetermined point.
 9. The perimeter boundary ofclaim 8, wherein any of the hypotenuse distance indicators can alsoserve as the predetermined point.
 10. The perimeter boundary of claim 7,wherein any of the corners can serve as an initial corner in setting upthe perimeter boundary.
 11. The perimeter boundary of claim 7,comprising twelve hypotenuse distance indicators.
 12. The perimeterboundary of claim 7, wherein the perimeter boundary is separable. 13.The perimeter boundary of claim 7 wherein the rectangle has a width anda length longer than the width, and wherein the hypotenuse distance isone of √{square root over (2)} times the width, √{square root over (5)}times the width, and 5/4 times the width.
 14. The perimeter boundary ofclaim 7, wherein the perimeter boundary can be set up by one unassistedperson.
 15. A method of setting up a perimeter boundary for a sportcourt, comprising: obtaining an elongate flexible perimeter boundarythat is a separable loop configured to form a rectangular court havingfour corners, the perimeter boundary comprising a hypotenuse distanceindicator placed on the perimeter boundary a hypotenuse distance awayfrom a point on the perimeter boundary that serves as a third corner ofthe rectangular court; anchoring the perimeter boundary to the ground attwo points that are first and second corners of the rectangular court,thereby forming an initial side of the rectangular court; holding thehypotenuse distance indicator at a preselected point on the initialside; locating a third corner the rectangular court by pulling the pointof the perimeter boundary that will form the third corner until theboundary material is taut between the third corner and the second cornerand between the third corner and the preselected point at which thehypotenuse distance indicator is held; and anchoring the perimeterboundary at the third corner.
 16. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: locating a fourth corner of the rectangular court by pullingthe point of the perimeter boundary that will form the fourth corneruntil the boundary material is taut between the fourth corner and thefirst corner, and between the fourth corner and the third corner; andanchoring the fourth corner.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein therectangular court has two short sides and two long sides, each long sidecomprising a midpoint, and wherein the method further comprisesanchoring the midpoints of the long sides to the ground.
 18. The methodof claim 15, wherein the preselected point at which the hypotenusedistance indicator is held is the first corner.
 19. The method of claim15 wherein the preselected point at which the hypotenuse distanceindicator is held is a midpoint of the first side.
 20. The method ofclaim 15, wherein holding the hypotenuse distance indicator at thepreselected point further comprises temporarily attaching the hypotenusedistance indicator to the boundary at the preselected point.